Cristian Vera Mercado Yahira Caro

Cristian
Vera Mercado
Yahira
Caro
CPA & Partner
Rodríguez, Rivera & Toro PSC
Attorney, Counselor-at-Law & Founder
Integrated Legal Solutions PSC
Cristian Vera Mercado grew up watching his father earn
his money the hard way, as a construction worker. His
father’s example taught him to follow an impeccable
work ethic that he applies daily to his job as partner
at the accounting and management consulting firm of
Rodríguez, Rivera & Toro PSC, one of the oldest of its kind
in Mayagüez.
Fresh out of college, Yahira Caro was working as a travel reporter
when Manuel Casiano offered her a position as editor in chief of
¡Qué Pasa! Caro thus began a career at Casiano Communications,
where she also edited Vida Actual and served as managing editor
of CARIBBEAN BUSINESS.
In 2002, while working with various Casiano publications, she
enrolled as a nighttime student at University of Puerto Rico
School of Law. Upon graduation, she left Casiano and
became an associate at Ferraiuoli LLC.
With the firm founded in 1967 and about to
celebrate its 50th anniversary, Vera Mercado
has turned his focus toward the future,
where he hopes to lead a younger
generation of professionals in the
company’s continued growth.
“I feel a responsibility toward
the firm, to help sustain it
so other professionals may
eventually grow their careers here,”
said the certified public accountant
and Chartered Global Management
Accountant (CGMA). “We work closely
with universities to recruit and train
students, whom we integrate into every
division of the firm. It is important to
me and the firm to give back what we’ve
learned,” he said.
However, after two years, Caro took a gamble, left Ferraiuoli
and struck out on her own. She founded Integrated Legal
Solutions PSC (ILS), a results-oriented boutique firm she
said values commitment, cost-effective services and
quality over a high volume of billable clients.
“I believed in myself and had the hunger to build
something, so I set out to do it and welcomed the risk,”
Caro said. “I envisioned a dedicated firm that would
be a full-service one-stop shop that emphasized a
problem-solving approach for clients.”
When it was founded in 2007, the firm had a single
client. Now, ILS has 35 active clients, many of
them both local and stateside professionals and
corporations doing business in Puerto Rico. In
addition to Caro, two other attorneys work at ILS.
Caro calls them “gladiators in suits.”
While studying to earn his degree in
accounting from Universidad Interamericana (Inter
American University) in Aguadilla, Vera Mercado
held odd jobs and practiced bodyboarding, a sport
he credits with instilling in him a sense of purpose
and discipline. Throughout his college career, though,
Vera Mercado had his eye on the prize: partnership at
Rodríguez, Rivera & Toro. “I had set myself the goal
of making partner, and now that I am, I am intent on
serving the firm and profession as best I can because
I believe he who serves is the best of them all,” he said.
She said the next step is to continue growing ILS, but
stressed she doesn’t want the firm to grow to the size
of larger law firms in Puerto Rico. ILS will bring new
business and take on new projects, but will only take on
as much work as they can diligently handle to retain the
personalized atmosphere and one-on-one service that
distinguishes the boutique law firm.
Caro identified prudence, justice, temperance and courage
as cardinal virtues that lead to a good work ethic and problemsolving skills.
Vera Mercado makes it a point to stay active in the
development of his profession, having served on the
board of the Society of Certified Public Accountants
from 2011 to 2015. “To believe, to grow and to
create is what I aspire to do each day, with a
great sense of responsibility and focused on
the desired results,” he concluded.
“You have to try to be prudent and fair, judge situations correctly,
practice restraint, patience and self control, and have the courage
and fortitude to believe in your own strength and do it
justice by working hard,” Caro said. “Every day is a testing
moment. You have to meet and cherish the challenge.”
Full Name: Cristian Vera Mercado
Favorite Beverage: Water
Full Name: Yahira Caro
Favorite Food/Restaurant: Any dish at José
Birthplace & Date: Mayagüez, Sept. 20, 1977
Car you drive: Range Rover
Birthplace & Date: San Juan, May 11, 1976
Enrique
Education: B.S. Accounting, Universidad
Favorite place to shop: Foot Locker, Macy’s
Education: Bachelor’s degree
Car you drive: Range Rover
Interamericana, Aguadilla; Certified Public
Dream destination: Santorini, Greece
Communication, University of P.R.,
Favorite Beverage: Champagne, Laurent-
Accountant
Nightstand Reading: “The Radical CPA, New Rules
Río Piedras; Juris Doctor, UPR
Marital status: Married
for the Future-Ready Firm” by Jody Padar, CPA
School of Law
Favorite place to shop: Gilt.com
Spouse & Children: Janice M. Mejías Vega;
Slogan/Motto: “Only in the dictionary will you find
Marital Status: Married
Dream destination: Vietnam
Nicolás Mateo
success before work.”
Spouse & Children: Jason
Nightstand Reading: “Anthem”
K. Bergner; Alexander
by Ayn Rand
Favorite Food/Restaurant: Home-cooked
meals made by my mom and mother-in-law and
Perrier Rose
Slogan/Motto: “Never quit.”
“mofongo italiano” from El Grand Marnier
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